Why I Was Gone for a Year...

I am not really sure how to begin this any other way except saying that I am sorry. I essentially dropped off the face of the Earth without warning, without any explanation. I feel that I let my followers down, and sometimes I feel that I shouldn't have come back to my blog at all.

As explained in my last post, I had typed up a review for The Maybe Boyfriend. However, when I tried to post it, it somehow deleted itself, and I could not recover any files of it. It was one of the best reviews I think I had ever written, and it was simply gone. I was extremely upset and I decided to give myself a couple weeks to reign in my emotions before retyping the review.

I started to recreate the post...

And then I started college, and I forgot all about it.

My first and second full-time semesters were hectic, to say the least, but I loved almost every minute of them. I read so much for my English and Humanities courses that I simply didn't have time to read for fun, and I really made it a point to put my classes before anything else. In other words, blogging simply wasn't a priority in my life, especially since I was a double major, and I'm now a triple major.

I had every intention to post at least something during my month-long winter break, but I was recuperating from my first Finals Week (*dun dun duuuuun*) and we took a trip to Florida to visit my grandparents. By the time we got back home and I finally felt mostly rested again, it was time for the spring semester to start, and my schedule became busy once more.

Another reason I hadn't been blogging was because I have been struggling on and off with my mental health since last summer. I pushed myself probably too hard in my first and second semesters of college, and even during the summer before, causing me to have panic attacks more often than usual, and I often experienced periods of depression surrounding the panic attacks. Thankfully, my doctor helped me keep my mental health under control, and summer break has allowed me to simply work and relax. Nothing I do during this summer has a grade attached to it, and I'm really trying to allow myself to enjoy every moment, to do the things that make me happy in order to recharge my body and my mind for next semester.

Though next semester's classes may be more challenging, I am hopeful that I will persevere through it even better than I did in the spring semester, which went much better than my fall semester.

Anyway, the gist of this is to apologize for being gone for so long and for not giving you any kind of warning. For those of you who have stuck with me, I cannot thank you enough; your support means the word to me and I love you all.

Until next post,

Catheryn
The Book Lioness
Instagram: @thebooklioness

The Maybe Boyfriend | Spoiler-Free Review

I had to take a really deep breath before typing this…..

Some of this post is from a year ago, and some of it, I am typing today. Before this post, I had an entire review typed up for this book, probably one of the reviews that I am most proud of. But, in the process of posting it through the Blogger app, the entire post was deleted. I was so upset that I had lost such an amazing post that I ended up having to take a break from blogging. I came back two weeks after that and started on the older remnants of this post, and I guess I just forgot to finish it. The reason I have been gone longer than those few weeks will be explained in a separate post.

Anyway, a year after reading the book, here goes nothing.

The Maybe Boyfriend is the sixth book in The Boyfriend Series by Christina Benjamin. Most of the books in this series can be read in any order, but this is one of the exceptions! If you want to get the most out of this book, read it right after The Almost Boyfriend (book #2 in the Boyfriend Series). You’ll know the characters and backstory a ton better, since Megan (the main female in Maybe) is the best friend of Sam (the main female in Almost), and Zander (the main male in Maybe) is the best friend/step-brother (I think) of Devon (the main male in Almost). I wish I had gone back to re-read Almost before I read Maybe since the two stories flow very smoothly into one another and are so connected, but I didn't have the time to, and I very much regretted that decision. The ARC copy that I received to review was 244 pages. The final published edition may have a slightly different page count, but you get the general idea. The novel takes place in Ireland, which already had me hooked since Ireland is one of the main places I will travel to before I die.

Synopsis (from Amazon):

Maybe love is worth the risk . . .

Everyone wants to be Zander O’Leary, except Zander O’Leary. The youngest billionaire in Ireland is finding life is lonely at the top. Everyone wants a piece of him and Zander is finding it’s hard to trust anyone’s motives. His only real relationship is with Megan Fields, a college student he’s had a crush on before he got rich and famous. The only trouble with Megan . . . They’ve never met in real life.

Megan Fields has stars in her eyes and dreams in her heart. As a Boston University film student, it’s Megan’s job to let her imagination carry her away. But she never could have imagined getting the chance to go to Ireland for a semester abroad with her dream guy. But that’s exactly what happens when Zander’s company offers her a film scholarship.

Megan’s hopes are set high as she flies to Ireland, determined to get the guy. And Zander hopes bringing Megan to Ireland will be the change he needs. But things go from bad to worse as Zander realizes maybe he’s not ready for as much of a commitment as Megan is looking for. Rather than facing the facts, Zander does what he does best . . . he runs.

No one knows the real reason the handsome tech genius won’t let anyone in, but Megan isn’t willing to let him off the hook so easily. When their Irish Adventure goes awry, things get dangerously close to revealing Zander’s dark past. Can Megan push past the walls he’s putting up? Or will she decide that maybe, maybe’s not enough?

Prologue:

MAYBE

ADVERB

        1. perhaps; possibly. Example: "Maybe this could work."

           synonyms; perhaps, possibly, conceivably, it could be (that), it is possible (that), for all one knows.

NOUN

        1. a mere possibility or probability. Example: "No ifs, buts, or maybes."

When dating, 'maybe' can be a girl's best friend.

         "Maybe I'll give you my number."

         "Maybe we can go on a second date."

         "Maybe he's the one."

However, there are definitely times a girl doesn't want to hear the word 'maybe'.

         "Do you care about me or did you just want to sleep with me?"

         "Do you see this relationship going anywhere?"

         "Are you dating anyone else?"

And the word 'maybe' should never be used when describing a boyfriend.

         "Zander O'Leary is your boyfriend, right?"

Maybe, maybe isn't such a great word after all.

Rating:

4.75 out of 5 stars

Review:

You might be wondering why I gave this book a 4.75 when the rest of the series has pretty much gotten 5’s across the board. Though I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and loved most every aspect of the plot and the characters, there were just times that the characters annoyed me because how irrationally they acted. I really liked Megan's character because she and I have very similar personalities, especially being the hopeless romantic. I loved how sassy she could be, but I also loved her outlook on life, as it is a trait I strive to develop. However, I think her views on sex and intimacy just didn’t click with me. I think part of what made me slightly less head-over-heels in love with this book was how rushed things felt between Megan and Zander, even though they had been talking for three years. For some reason, it just didn't flow well with how I was reading it. On the other hand, sometimes the attraction and tension was so real that it was frustrating me, emotionally and physically. All in all, it was still a great read, I still loved it, and I would recommend it just as highly as the rest of the series! Just don't forget to read The Almost Boyfriend first!

Favorite Quotes:

"The boy she liked, liked her back, and there was no greater feeling in the world."

"I wish you could see the stupid smile I get when we're texting."

"Megan was still a bit lightheaded but it was hard to tell if it was a side effect of her asthma or Zander. Both afflictions were potentially crippling."

"My current situation is not my final destination."

"Maybe you need to get lost before you can find yourself."

"Megan was Zander's willful daisy, determined to make him see beauty and light even when drowning in his own darkness."

To Buy:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Check out Christina Benjamin's website here!